Amos 5:18-27

The Lord Demands Justice

5:18 Woe ¹  to those who wish for the day of the Lord!

Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come?

It will bring darkness, not light.

5:19 Disaster will be inescapable, ² 

as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,

then escaped ³  into a house,

leaned his hand against the wall,

and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

5:20 Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring ⁴  darkness, not light –

gloomy blackness, not bright light?

5:21 “I absolutely despise ⁵  your festivals!

I get no pleasure ⁶  from your religious assemblies!

5:22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, ⁷  I will not be satisfied;

I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves. ⁸ 

5:23 Take away from me your ⁹  noisy songs;

I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments. ¹⁰ 

5:24 Justice must flow like torrents of water,

righteous actions ¹¹  like a stream that never dries up.

5:25 You did not bring me ¹²  sacrifices and grain offerings during the forty years you spent in the wilderness, family ¹³  of Israel.

5:26 You will pick up your images ¹⁴  of Sikkuth, ¹⁵  your king, ¹⁶ 

and Kiyyun, ¹⁷  your star god, which you made for yourselves,

5:27 and I will drive you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord.

He is called the God who commands armies!

[5:18]  ¹ tn The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”) was used when mourning the dead (see the note on the word “dead” in 5:16). The prophet here either engages in role playing and mourns the death of the nation in advance or sarcastically taunts those who hold to this misplaced belief.

[5:19]  ² tn The words “Disaster will be inescapable” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:19]  ³ tn Heb “went” (so KJV, NRSV).

[5:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “Will not the day of the Lord be.”

[5:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “I hate”; “I despise.”

[5:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “I will not smell.” These verses are full of vivid descriptions of the Lord’s total rejection of Israelite worship. In the first half of this verse two verbs are used together for emphasis. Here the verb alludes to the sense of smell, a fitting observation since offerings would have been burned on the altar ideally to provide a sweet aroma to God (see, e.g., Lev 1:9, 13, 17; Num 29:36). Other senses that are mentioned include sight and hearing in vv. 22-23.

[5:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “burnt offerings and your grain offerings.”

[5:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “Peace offering[s], your fattened calves, I will not look at.”

[5:23]  ⁹ tn In this verse the second person suffixes are singular and not plural like they are in vv. 21-22 and vv. 25-27. Some have suggested that perhaps a specific individual or group within the nation is in view.

[5:23]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew word probably refers to “harps” (NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “lutes” (NEB).

[5:24]  ¹¹ tn Traditionally, “righteousness.”

[5:25]  ¹² tn Heb “Did you bring me…?” This rhetorical question expects a negative answer. The point seems to be this: Since sacrifices did not characterize God’s relationship with Israel during the nation’s formative years, the people should not consider them to be so fundamental. The Lord places a higher priority on justice than he does on empty ritual.

[5:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “house.”

[5:26]  ¹⁴ tn This word appears in an awkward position in the Hebrew, following “Kiyyun.” It is placed here for better sense.

[5:26]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term סִכּוּת (sikkut) apparently refers to Sakkuth, a Mesopotamian star god identified with Ninurta in an Ugaritic god list. The name is vocalized in the Hebrew text after the pattern of שִׁקוּץ (shiqquts, “detestable thing”). See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 195-96. Some English versions, following the LXX, translate as “tent” or “shrine” (NEB, NIV), pointing the term as סֻכַּת (sukkat; cf. 9:11).

[5:26]  ¹⁶ tc LXX, Vulgate, and Acts 7:43 read “Moloch” (cf. KJV). The Hebrew consonants are the same for both “king” and “Moloch” (מֹלֶךְ; molekh).

[5:26]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term כִּיּוּן (kiyyun) apparently refers to the Mesopotamian god Kayamanu, or Saturn. The name, like “Sikkuth” in the previous line, is vocalized in the Hebrew text after the pattern of שִׁקוּץ (shiqquts, “detestable thing”). See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 195-96. Some versions translate as “pedestal” (NEB, NIV), relating the term to the root כּוּן (kun).